man. He carried a staff with several rings set into the top of it. He was bald, and his earlobes were elongated exactly as those on many of the Buddhist images Jin had seen in her studies. He was maybe five feet tall in his sandals, and wore the robes of a monk. He looked about as dangerous as a fireplug with the water turned off.
"Damn it all, don't do that!"
The little man raised his eyebrows. "Immanence, your language has certainly gotten more... colorful, since our last meeting."
Jin stood up straight and abandoned her Pulan Gong form, feeling a little foolish. She racked her brains while she waited for her heart to stop pounding. "You're... O-Jizou, yes?"
He nodded. "You remember me, after all this time. I am honored, Kannon-sama."
Something in the way he said it led Jin to think that he wasn't honored at all. In fact, if it had been anyone other than the Enlightened Being O-Jizou was supposed to be, she'd have thought he sounded downright annoyed. He was a Bodhisattva like herself, and had something to do with children, but that was all she could remember.
"I'm in a mortal incarnation and my memory is faulty. Have I done something to offend you?"
"The Lord of the First Hell informed me of your condition. As for offense... those in my care have suffered because of you. Suffering may be the lot of all creatures, but usually it serves a purpose, however obscure. Does what you have done serve a purpose? Emma-O believes so, but I don't know for certain and neither, apparently, do you."
Jin said nothing. There didn't seem to be anything to say. Then the moment passed and the little monk turned on his heel and set out at a walk so brisk that Jin had to run to catch up. "Follow me, please," he said over his shoulder.
"I'm trying ," Jin said, amazed that the man's short legs could move so quickly.
They hadn't quite reached the riverbed when a fierce-looking old woman appeared out of nowhere, blocking their path. Her hair was white and her eyes jet black, and those eyes glittered like cold wet stones. "Give me your clothes," she said to Jin.
Jin put her hands on her hips. "Excuse me??"
"Begone, Datsueba," O-Jizou said. "Do you not recognize Kannon the Merciful?"
The hag looked at her even closer. "I know guilt when I see it. Her clothes belong to me. That is the Law."
"I don't think so," said Jin. In another moment she was in full demon form again. The hag didn't appear worried at all, or even surprised. She did look a little puzzled.
O-Jizou sighed. "Stop that," he said to Jin, as if she were a misbehaving child, then turned back to the hag. "Whatever else this woman may be, she is mortal and alive. You're wasting our time, Datsueba."
"Mortal stink," said the hag finally, and made a sniffing noise. "I should have noticed. Didn't want to touch her anyway."
In another instant the hag was gone and Jin had returned to her normal appearance. O-Jizou started walking again and Jin hurried to catch up. "What was that all about?"
The little monk shrugged. "After their initial judgment, the dead, guilty and guiltless alike, come to this place to cross the river to the next realm. Those judged guiltless cross on a bridge. Those who are guilty must either wade or swim the river. It is the Datsueba's task to strip the clothing from the guilty."
"Just what am I supposed to be guilty of? Are all the guilty here supposed to stay naked?!"
"As to the first, I cannot say. For the second, no, they clothe themselves again in time," he said, as if the matter was of no importance.
Jin just hurried along for a little while, so intent on keeping pace with O-Jizou that the inherent absurdity of what he had said took a little while to catch up to her. When it did, she almost stopped.
"Ummm, O-Jizou, correct me if I'm wrong, but where we're walking is dry. There's no water here."
"Not a drop," O-Jizou agreed.
"So why does anyone need to wade?"
"Because they don't understand that the water is an illusion. If they did, they wouldn't
"Damn it all, don't do that!"
The little man raised his eyebrows. "Immanence, your language has certainly gotten more... colorful, since our last meeting."
Jin stood up straight and abandoned her Pulan Gong form, feeling a little foolish. She racked her brains while she waited for her heart to stop pounding. "You're... O-Jizou, yes?"
He nodded. "You remember me, after all this time. I am honored, Kannon-sama."
Something in the way he said it led Jin to think that he wasn't honored at all. In fact, if it had been anyone other than the Enlightened Being O-Jizou was supposed to be, she'd have thought he sounded downright annoyed. He was a Bodhisattva like herself, and had something to do with children, but that was all she could remember.
"I'm in a mortal incarnation and my memory is faulty. Have I done something to offend you?"
"The Lord of the First Hell informed me of your condition. As for offense... those in my care have suffered because of you. Suffering may be the lot of all creatures, but usually it serves a purpose, however obscure. Does what you have done serve a purpose? Emma-O believes so, but I don't know for certain and neither, apparently, do you."
Jin said nothing. There didn't seem to be anything to say. Then the moment passed and the little monk turned on his heel and set out at a walk so brisk that Jin had to run to catch up. "Follow me, please," he said over his shoulder.
"I'm trying ," Jin said, amazed that the man's short legs could move so quickly.
They hadn't quite reached the riverbed when a fierce-looking old woman appeared out of nowhere, blocking their path. Her hair was white and her eyes jet black, and those eyes glittered like cold wet stones. "Give me your clothes," she said to Jin.
Jin put her hands on her hips. "Excuse me??"
"Begone, Datsueba," O-Jizou said. "Do you not recognize Kannon the Merciful?"
The hag looked at her even closer. "I know guilt when I see it. Her clothes belong to me. That is the Law."
"I don't think so," said Jin. In another moment she was in full demon form again. The hag didn't appear worried at all, or even surprised. She did look a little puzzled.
O-Jizou sighed. "Stop that," he said to Jin, as if she were a misbehaving child, then turned back to the hag. "Whatever else this woman may be, she is mortal and alive. You're wasting our time, Datsueba."
"Mortal stink," said the hag finally, and made a sniffing noise. "I should have noticed. Didn't want to touch her anyway."
In another instant the hag was gone and Jin had returned to her normal appearance. O-Jizou started walking again and Jin hurried to catch up. "What was that all about?"
The little monk shrugged. "After their initial judgment, the dead, guilty and guiltless alike, come to this place to cross the river to the next realm. Those judged guiltless cross on a bridge. Those who are guilty must either wade or swim the river. It is the Datsueba's task to strip the clothing from the guilty."
"Just what am I supposed to be guilty of? Are all the guilty here supposed to stay naked?!"
"As to the first, I cannot say. For the second, no, they clothe themselves again in time," he said, as if the matter was of no importance.
Jin just hurried along for a little while, so intent on keeping pace with O-Jizou that the inherent absurdity of what he had said took a little while to catch up to her. When it did, she almost stopped.
"Ummm, O-Jizou, correct me if I'm wrong, but where we're walking is dry. There's no water here."
"Not a drop," O-Jizou agreed.
"So why does anyone need to wade?"
"Because they don't understand that the water is an illusion. If they did, they wouldn't
Similar Books
